The fourth stage of NAFLD is cirrhosis; Most people with NAFLD have the early stage of the disease (simple fatty liver or steatosis) and only a small number develop the more serious stages. It can take several years for fibrosis or cirrhosis to develop.
Both groups of fatty liver disease (AFLD and NAFLD) can lead to cirrhosis when not treated in time. Both conditions take time to progress, but cirrhosis warrants a considerably more severe issue. Fatty liver disease is significantly more common.
Patients with alcoholic fatty liver disease who continue to consume large amounts of alcohol daily have been found to have a risk of 8–30% of developing fibrosis or cirrhosis after 10 years.
Early-stage NAFLD doesn't usually cause any harm, but it can lead to serious liver damage, including cirrhosis, if it gets worse. Having high levels of fat in your liver is also associated with an increased risk of problems such as diabetes, heart attacks and strokes.
Stage 1 is inflammation of your liver, caused by your immune system reacting to a foreign substance, like toxins. Chronic inflammation can lead to an enlarged liver. Inflammation can result from fatty liver, hepatitis, and other causes. Stage 2 is liver fibrosis or liver scarring, caused by chronic inflammation.
It takes upwards of ten years for alcohol-related liver disease to progress from fatty liver through fibrosis to cirrhosis to acute on chronic liver failure. This process is silent and symptom free and can easily be missed in primary care, usually presenting with advanced cirrhosis.
Between 5% and 12% of people with NASH will progress to cirrhosis.
Heavy drinkers and alcoholics may progress from fatty liver to alcoholic hepatitis to cirrhosis, and it is estimated that 10 percent to 15 percent of alcoholics will develop cirrhosis.
Fatty liver disease is a common condition caused by the storage of extra fat in the liver. Most people have no symptoms, and it doesn't cause serious problems for them. In some cases, though, it can lead to liver damage. The good news is you can often prevent or even reverse fatty liver disease with lifestyle changes.
The first stage is referred to as simple fatty liver or steatosis; This occurs when the liver cells start to build-up fat, although there is no inflammation or scarring at this stage. There are often no symptoms in this early stage, so many people are unaware they have a fatty liver.
While fatty liver disease and cirrhosis both involve the liver, there are a few central distinctions. Fatty liver disease is identified by the buildup of fat in the liver; however, cirrhosis is the growth of scarring on top of healthy areas of tissue.
Fatty liver disease rarely causes any symptoms, but it's an important warning sign that you're drinking at a harmful level. Fatty liver disease is reversible. If you stop drinking alcohol for some time (months or years), your liver should return to normal.
Moderate or heavy alcohol use can cause additional damage and fat accumulation in the liver in people with NAFLD. Therefore, patients with NAFLD should avoid alcohol entirely if possible.
"Apart from alcohol consumption, several contributory factors, including diet, lifestyle, mental health, viral infection and gender, influence the risk of developing cirrhosis," Dr Seth said. There is evidence that genes influence the development and progression of this disease.
If you have a more serious form of ARLD – alcoholic hepatitis or cirrhosis – life-long abstinence is recommended. This is because stopping drinking is the only way to prevent your liver damage getting worse and potentially stop you dying of liver disease.
Although children and young adults can get fatty liver disease, it is most common in middle age. Risk factors include: Being overweight. Having high blood fat levels, either triglycerides or LDL (“bad”) cholesterol.
Cirrhosis often has no signs or symptoms until liver damage is extensive. When signs and symptoms do occur, they may include: Fatigue. Easily bleeding or bruising.
People who have been diagnosed with so-called fatty liver, run an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease and loss in life expectancy, compared to the general population. These patients have approximately a 2.8 years shorter expected survival, based on collected data from a large number of Swedish patients.
The main symptoms of cirrhosis include: tiredness and weakness. feeling sick (nausea) and loss of appetite resulting in weight loss. red patches on your palms and small, spider-like blood vessels on your skin (spider angiomas) above waist level.
Cirrhosis cannot usually be cured, but there are ways to manage the symptoms and any complications, and stop the condition getting worse.
Patients with compensated cirrhosis have a median survival that may extend beyond 12 years. Patients with decompensated cirrhosis have a worse prognosis than do those with compensated cirrhosis; the average survival without transplantation is approximately two years [13,14].
The risk of disease was twice as high in women than men, but only in the dose range 3–8 drinks/day. Only 4% of individuals consuming more than 6 drinks daily had cirrhosis and only 10% had any evidence of liver disease at all.
In some cases, depending on the cause of liver disease, these symptoms may come on suddenly. It is also possible that about 50% of people with acute liver disease will have no symptoms. People living with chronic liver disease may not experience any symptoms until the disease has progressed for many years.
Depending on the cause, cirrhosis can develop over months or years. There is no cure. Treatment aims to halt liver damage, manage the symptoms and reduce the risk of complications, such as diabetes, osteoporosis (brittle bones), liver cancer and liver failure.